2017 Discover Scholar Awardees

Congratulations to the 2017 LSU Discover Scholars who will be honored at an awards ceremony on March 2, 2017. The LSU Discover Scholar award recognizes students who exemplify the potential for undergraduate research and creative endeavors at LSU. These outstanding students were nominated by a faculty member and selected by a panel of judges.

The 2017 Discover Scholar Awardees:

Name

Major

Nominator

Bryanna Fields

Psychology

Dr. Jason Harman

Vernell Dunams

Studio Art

Prof. Kristine Thompson

Camille Boechler

Liberal Arts

Dr. Chris Barrett

Shelby Stewart

Psychology

Dr. Amy Copeland

Connor Rouillier

Anthropology

Dr. Gregory Johnson

Meet the 2017 Discover Scholar Awardees

Meet Bryanna Fields

Bryanna Fields is a senior psychology major hailing from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. After her May 2017 graduation, Bryanna plans to attend graduate school and continue research on the mathematical modeling of decision-making psychology.

Bryanna was first introduced to undergraduate research through a required online psychology course where she learned about the opportunity to complete an Honors Thesis and receive upper division honors in psychology. Fields was always interested in how people think and wanted to find a way to intertwine mathematics and psychology. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jason Harman, Bryanna, uses mathematical modeling to predict preferences for decision reversibility in human decision making. Her thesis is titled “The Effects of Reversibility as an Attitude in Decision Making,”

Participating in undergraduate research has allowed Bryanna to strengthen her applications for graduate school and also gain a deeper understanding of knowledge and evidence-based practices in her field of study.

Meet Vernell Dunams

Vernell Dunams is a junior photography and Spanish double major by way of New Orleans, Louisiana. After his graduation in May 2018, Vernell plans to perfect his crafts and work as a practicing artist and fine arts photographer. He hopes to later attend graduate school and obtain an advanced degree in photography and/or Spanish.

Vernell’s current project, titled “Toumai Words: Songs of Your Primordial Ancestor,” is a combination of his personal experiences and his coursework in areas such as anthropology, literature, and photographic processes. Research was a major component of Dunams’ coursework. He learned to combine these experiences and was urged by faculty in the photography department to view his creative works a “result of research.” Vernell works closely with his mentor, Prof. Kristine Thompson, who constantly encourages him to “carry out his concepts from start to finish.”

As an artist, Vernell values his undergraduate research experience because working closely with a mentor “removes the fear of failure from the art-making process” and allows for exploration of artistic concepts.

Meet Camille Boechler

Camille Boechler, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a senior liberal arts major with a concentration in film and media arts. After her May 2017 graduation, Camille plans to take a gap year and later attend graduate school to obtain her doctoral degree.

Camille became interested in undergraduate research after completing an independent study centered on queer film theory with Dr. Phillip Maciak. Camille works closely with her mentor, Dr. Chris Barrett, on a project titled “The Potential Worlds of 2001: Imagining a Queer Physicality in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.” Camille met Dr. Barrett at the 2015 Louisiana Queer Conference and later enrolled in her Shakespeare course. The two share similar research and academic interests which led to Dr. Barrett serving as Camille’s mentor.

Camille believes that participating in undergraduate research will give her an advantage when applying to graduate school because it demonstrates characteristics of an outstanding applicant.

Meet Shelby Stewart

Shelby Stewart is a senior psychology and criminology major from Metairie, Louisiana. Shelby is expected to graduate May 2017 and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Shelby is currently working on her honors thesis, a requirement of the Ogden Honors College, titled “Using Low Socioeconomic Status, Poor Sleep, and Drinking Motivations as Predictors for Outcomes of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) Treatment.” She was inspired to do this work because of the proliferation of problematic alcohol use on college campuses. Her work was supported by the Tiger Athletic Foundation’s Honors Thesis Scholarship, which she received fall 2016.

Stewart currently works on this project with her mentor, Dr. Amy Copeland, who she has worked with since her sophomore year. Shelby connected with Dr. Copeland after working at the LSU Psychological Services Center where encouraging graduate students helped her to pinpoint her specific interests in psychology.

Meet Connor Rouillier

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, Connor Rouillier, is a sophomore anthropology and religious studies major with double minors in linguistics and Arabic studies. Connor is expected to graduate in May 2019 and plans to pursue a master’s and a doctoral degree in Linguistics. He later hopes to become a professor so that he can share his knowledge of languages and their structure with future generations.

Connor was encouraged to participate in undergraduate research while still in high school by the late Dr. Elizabeth “Lisi” Oliver, a professor in the Department of English at LSU. Dr. Gregory Johnson, Connor’s current mentor, introduced him to an interdisciplinary team to help develop his current work, “This Better Had Be One Lexical Item: The Modal Verb Better Had in Southeastern Louisianan English,” supported by the President’s Future Leaders in Research Program.

Connor enjoys participating in undergraduate research because it has allowed him to work closely with faculty, who have helped him to develop personally and academically, and access unique resources that support his work. Rouillier will present his work at the LSU Mardi Gras Conference and the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics in Charleston, South Carolina in March 2017.